Kinshasa, July 20th, 2025 (CPA). – The very first global music and tourism festival, held from July 16th to 18th, 2025 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, was hailed as the realization of a long-held dream of the government by a Congolese musicologist during a discussion with the CPA on Sunday. ‘I think this first festival is a success. Its first success is the fact that there has been significant involvement from the national authorities, the Presidency of the Republic and the government in particular. I believe that this is a dream of the government that has just been realized. And with success,’ said Ambroise Kwanzambi, an expert in classical and African choral music ‘I say this with full knowledge of the facts because we have been working with the Ministry of Tourism, led by Didier M’Pambia, for years on this festival project. Today, the dream has come true,’ he added. Maestro Ambroise Kwanzambi particularly praised the mobilization of material and financial resources, which were commensurate with the event. ‘It’s a bit like when former Pope Francis arrived, when we were also mobilized in this way, so it’s already a success that the government has allocated money for this organization,’ he said.
Government called upon to increase cultural events to promote tourism in the DRC
In the same vein, musicologist Ambroise Kwanzambi called on the Congolese government to promote culture and tourism through the proliferation of such large-scale events. In addition, the choral music expert reflected on the performance of his interfaith choir ‘Chœur la Grace’, which distinguished itself during the event by performing the national anthem in five languages of the country and several popular rumba-style hymns in choir mode, such as ‘Congo nde mboka’ ‘ and ’Nkolo Yesu » by Charles Mombaya. “I myself participated with ’Choeur la Grace ». I sang at the opening. I sang the national anthem in five languages in front of the President of the Republic with my interfaith choir. We were asked to sing rumba. We sang choral rumba, that’s right. Because the festival is all about rumba, » he said. At the opening of the event, President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi reaffirmed the government’s commitment to increasing support for the cultural and tourism sectors, now considered vectors of peace, coexistence and sustainable development. Under the theme ‘The Road to Rumba,’ the festival saw the participation of a dozen countries, including Gambia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and many others. ACP/